A Flower Bloomed
by Clearly through the Shadows
Summary: a small two chappie story of shinos and hanas luv....
1. Chapter 1

**A Flower Bloomed**

A twenty-two year old Inuzuka Hana watched her dogs frolic around her. This was the day she had been waiting for, for a long time. The day she would see Shino again.

Sure, Shino was only seventeen while she was twenty-two. She didn't care at all. All she knew was that she liked him. A lot.

Since her brother and the rest of Team 8 had also become chuunin, she hadn't seen much of Shino, except when they occasionally met in the streets of Konoha. However, she and Shino had been on different missions which overlapped for the past eight months, so they hadn't seen each other at all. But she was finally going to meet him again today.

Hana pushed her messy brown hair out of her eyes, squinting into the distance. Was that- Could it be? Shino?

A blush reached her cheeks, making them just a shade lighter than the crimson tattoos adorning her cheeks. She fought it down, growling at herself. After all, she _was_ a chuunin, from the Inuzuka clan, famous for their relationships with dogs. Her own three dogs, the Haimaru triplets, roughhoused around her, barking and snapping. She smiled slightly at the sight of them. She knew her appearance took somewhat after them, her teeth looking almost like fangs, her eyes dark and kind, her brown hair messy and spiky. She didn't mind though, she liked how she looked and she didn't care if other girls thought her ugly, she was proud that she was an Inuzuka.

"Ohayou, Hana-chan. Hana-chan?" A voice interrupted her thoughts.

She jumped and looked up. "Shino-kun! Ohayou." she smiled at him as she pushed her hair out of her eyes yet again. "You're here to fetch Kiba for practice, ne?" She automatically noted that he had grown even taller, now almost a head taller than her. His eyes were still covered by the dark glasses he always wore, his head covered by his hood. But the collar to his jacket was unzipped, allowing her to see his face.

Shino glanced at Hana, his eyes hidden behind his dark glasses. He was glad his high-collared coat concealed his face; otherwise, she would see his blush. Suddenly, he remembered he had undone the zipper. But he couldn't help the blush. She looked so pretty whenever she did that, constantly pushing her hair out of her face. He nodded, "Hai."

She grinned at him, rather wolfishly. "Kiba's still sleeping; the baka went to sleep late last night," she said rather ruefully. "I can't say it wasn't partly my fault though, I fell asleep without getting him to bed first." She stood up from where she was crouched on the ground, observing her dogs. "Come on in then. You can wait inside while I try to wake up the gaki." She turned around and opened the door, gesturing for him to come in. He nodded as he stepped over the threshold.

"It's been a while since I've seen you, Shino-kun. I've got to say, it's even kinda quiet around here without you and Hinata-chan coming around to bother him." She smiled again as she placed a cup of tea in front of him. "Sweet bread?" she demanded.

Shino smiled behind the collar of his coat. Hana was one of the few kunoichi in Konoha who didn't bother to be polite, and he liked that about her. "No thanks. I'd love to, but Kurenai-sensei is expecting us all soon- our team hasn't seen each other in quite a while."

Hana flashed him another smile and nodded. "I understand. I'll go wake up Kiba then," Then a slightly mischievous look crossed her face. "Oh, and don't bother to go check on us if there's a lot of yelling or scuffling." She smiled sweetly, then whirled and thundered up the stairs.

Shino allowed himself a grin as he sipped at the tea. He had been to the Inuzuka house often enough the past few years to witness many of Hana's famous wake-up calls to her brother. He set the cup down on a nearby table and leaned back, plugging his ears. It was only then he allowed his thoughts to drift to the pretty kunoichi who had just been in front of him. Even if she was five years his senior, he liked her a lot, more than a crush. It was the natural grace of which she moved, the slightly wild side of her that he had fallen for. But she was also calm and collected, something that few kunoichi he knew were. He had to look down at her now, but he didn't mind. Though she was a late bloomer, like every other flower, she had bloomed. She had filled out in a few places and was curvier than when he had last seen her. Though her hair was as messy and boyish as ever, her chuunin vest and black shorts clung to her form, accentuating her body. Yes, she had grown up.

There was suddenly a resounding sound of a slap, then a yelp. "ITAI!" He recognized Kiba's voice. As he waited for the next few minutes, he heard a lot of crashing, yelling and barking. Finally, Hana came down the stairs dragging Kiba by the ear, with a small smirk on her face.

"Itai, itai, itai…ITAI!" Kiba yelled as he fell down each step of the stairs. Finally, he hit the bottom, and was mercilessly pulled over to Shino and deposited at his feet.

Shino laughed. "Ohayou, Kiba. Nice wake-up call?" He looked at Hana, tilting his head inquisitively.

Hana grinned at him. "Oh, none worse than usual."

Shino nodded. "Well, Kiba, we'd better get going." Then, with a nod to Hana, he dragged Kiba out of the house, with Kiba yelling the entire way.

Hana watched them depart, and then fell on the couch with a deep breath. It had been good to see Shino again, after all those years. She had missed him. He was so much more handsome…she wondered what he thought of her.


	2. The flower has bloomed

Shino and Kiba walked back to the Inuzuka compound that night; after the reunion with their team, both were worn out. Shino nodded a good-night to Kiba and went his way, though disappointed that he hadn't seen Hana. He decided to go to a drink shop and get a drink, since he didn't feel like going home so soon yet as it wasn't that late.

Several minutes later, he found himself at a table near an outdoor bubble tea shop. He ordered a bubble tea, then sat back, observing the passer-bys. Then, he caught sight of Hana walking home, presumably from the hospital where she worked. He thought about it for a split second, and decided to take the risk. He called out her name, and she turned in surprise when she saw him, but smiled and came over and sat down at his table.

"Hey, Shino-kun."

Shino smiled at her. "Hey. Hard day?" He asked this because she looked worn out.

She tiredly smiled. "You could call it that. But never mind."

Shino inwardly smiled, Hana was never one to bother others with her problems. On the outside, he nodded. "Do you wanna drink? My treat."

She nodded and smiled gratefully. After he had ordered for her, he turned back to her. "So, what do you do now? Do you still work with animals?" he asked.

She nodded. "Same old, same old. I don't mind though. I love animals." She smiled absently, twirling an escaped strand of hair around a finger. Shino looked at her, thinking how pretty she was. They chatted for a while longer, until Shino noticed how late it was.

"It's getting pretty late." He said quietly.

Hana noticed the time too. "Oh! Kiba's going to be worried. I've got to go. Thanks for the drink though, Shino-kun."

He smiled quietly. "You're welcome. I'll walk you home." She didn't say anything, but her eyes said enough to him. She was happy.

As they strolled along to the Inuzuka compound, Shino took her hand and held it while they were walking. Hana looked up, surprised, but kept quiet. She looked up at the moon, humming. The humming turned into soft singing. As they approached Hana's house, Shino asked quietly, "What's that song you're singing? It's a very nice song." Hana looked surprised, then blushed and tilted her head forwards, letting her bangs hide her face. Both of them didn't notice they had come to a stop in front of the Inuzuka house, hand in hand and very close together. They both also didn't notice another pair of eyes on them.

"It-it's nothing." Hana said quietly, her face still covered in shadow.

Shino looked down at her, then reached out and tucked her bangs behind her ears. He put an arm around her waist, pulling her close. Then, he whispered in her ear "You shouldn't let your bangs hide your beautiful face all the time." Hana froze, blushing. He gently kissed her on the cheek and smiled at her. "Good-night, Hana-chan" he said quietly. Then, he walked off into the night.

"Wait- Shino-kun!" Shino turned around in surprise, to see Hana running up to him and throwing her arms around his neck in a hug. "Good-night," she whispered, then released him smiling shyly. She gave a small wave then vanished into the house.

The next day, the first thing Shino saw when he opened his eyes was Kiba's face, scowling. "Ok, bug-boy, you may be my best friend, but you had better tell me what you did to my sister last night."

Shino groaned.

(in case u ppl didn't get it, the other person watching them was kiba!)


End file.
